Hurricanes are violent and dangerous to your family and your home. When a hurricane threatens to bear down, make sure that you know how to batten down your hatches and protect yourself, your loved ones and your property.

For more preparedness tips, handy checklists (including ones you can personalize yourself) and evacuation planning advice to cover a variety of disasters, get the I.I.I.’s Know Your Plan app. It’s a great tool to help get you and your family—including pets—organized and ready to act more quickly if a hurricane or other emergency strikes.

When a hurricane watch is issued

A hurricane watch is issued when there is a threat of a hurricane within a 24-36 hour period. At that time, you should:

Purchase any emergency supplies that you don’t already have on hand. Hit the stores early, as items such as batteries, candles and flashlights will get snapped up quickly.

Prepare your yard by removing all outdoor furniture, lawn items, planters and other materials that could be picked up by high winds. If you haven’t already, remove weak branches on plants and trees. Lower antennas and retractable awnings.

If evacuation becomes necessary

Don’t wait until the last minute—shelters might be full or the roads might be jammed. If you have pets, consider traveling before an evacuation is ordered—otherwise, you might be ordered by officials to leave your pet home.

Take along survival supplies from your list.

Keep important papers with you at all times, including your home inventory and make sure you have the name and phone number of your insurance professional.

Take warm, protective clothing for the whole family in case you get stuck.

Lock all windows and doors on your home. Don’t compound hurricane damage with the threat of possible looters.

Keep all receipts for anything that might be considered to be an additional living expense (ALE) in the event your home is destroyed or damaged and rendered uninhabitable.

If you remain at home during a hurricane

Stay indoors. Don’t go out even during the brief calm when the eye of the storm passes over as wind speeds can increase dramatically in seconds.

Stay away from windows and glass doors and move furniture away from exposed doors and windows.

Stay on the downwind side of house. If your home has an “inside” room, stay there during the height of the hurricane.

Keep the television or radio tuned into information from official sources.

After the hurricane, beware of the dangers that remain

The storm may have passed, but it likely has created new dangers.

Beware of outdoor hazards like loose or fallen tree limbs, loose signage or awnings that are in danger of breaking off and falling.

Keep away from loose or dangling power lines, and report them immediately to the proper authority.

Walk or drive extra cautiously as washouts may weaken road and bridge structures.

In the event of a power outage, throw out food that may be spoiled.

Boil municipal water before drinking until you have been told it is safe.

If your home is damaged

Notify your insurance professional as soon as possible of any losses. If you had to relocate, let your representative know where you can be contacted. In addition:

Make temporary repairs—if they can be made safely—to protect property from further damage or looting; for insurance purposes, keep all receipts for materials used.

Get written estimates for any proposed repair jobs and use only reputable contractors. Be especially careful of building contractors who want huge deposits up front or encourage you to spend a lot of money on temporary repairs. Ask for their references and check with the Better Business Bureau on complaints.

Gather any other receipts for expenses that will be covered by insurance or will be tax deductible.

Florida accounted for 13 percent of all U.S. insured catastrophe losses from 1987 to 2016: $70.8 billion out of $364.3 billion, based on data from the PCS division of ISO. (Adjusted for inflation by ISO using the GDP implicit price deflator.)

Six of the 10 costliest hurricanes in U.S. history have impacted Florida. Four of these storms occurred within just two years: 2004 and 2005. (See chart.)

The costliest hurricane, based on insured property losses to Florida, was 1992’s Hurricane Andrew. It caused $25.4 billion in damage to Florida and Louisiana (in 2018 dollars). (See chart.)

Florida leads the nation in the number of flood policies, according to the National Flood Insurance Program, with about 1.8 million policies in force in 2017.

The number of people living in coastal areas in Florida increased by 4.2 million, or 27 percent, from 15.6 million in 2000 to 19.8 million in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 98 percent of the total population of Florida lives in one of the coastal counties.

In Florida, 2.8 million homes were at risk in 2018 for storm surge damage from hurricanes up to Category 5 strength, according to CoreLogic, Inc. These homes would cost $552.4 trillion to completely rebuild, including labor and materials.

Given the growth in the number and value of insured property, a repeat of the hurricane that devastated Miami in 1926 would have resulted in approximately $130.2 billion in insured damage in 2016, according to Karen Clark and Co.

After its establishment in 2002, when the state passed legislation combining two separate high-risk insurance pools known as the Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association and the Florida Residential Property & Casualty Joint Underwriting Association, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (CPIC) experienced exponential growth. As a result, Florida Citizens has evolved from a market of last resort to the state’s largest property insurer.